Belmond’s Eastern & Oriental Express was relaunched in February with new furnishings, food and activities.
JOHOR – I have travelled across the Singapore-Johor Causeway possibly 100 times in my life, but never like this.
Stepping into the carriage, I am ushered into my elegant wood-panelled cabin moments before my smiling steward, Mr Jabez Loh, enters bearing a refreshing welcome drink of oolong tea-infused mangosteen juice topped with a ginger flower spike and a colourful confetti of petals. Built in 1971 in Japan for New Zealand’s Silver Star sleeper train, its carriages plied the Auckland-Wellington route for 20 years before being shipped to Singapore, where they were completely transformed with exquisite new wood interiors inlaid with hand-cut marquetry.
All cabins are air-conditioned, and unlike Belmond’s grand train in Europe, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, all include en-suite bathrooms. The State cabins’ new soft furnishings are inspired by the jewel tones of coastal Penang and sleep up to two guests. PHOTO: LUDOVIC BALAY And when Belmond realised it had bales of pink jacquard fabric left over from the Piano Bar car’s previous design scheme, it engaged a social enterprise in Johor Bahru to stitch them into totes. These are now presented to guests as a gift.The train’s new menu features fusion cuisine, curated by Michelin-starred Taiwanese chef Andre Chiang. PHOTO: LUDOVIC BALAY
Chef Andre Chiang says he is trying to create an experience that melts into the environment. PHOTO: LUDOVIC BALAY Chef Chiang’s menu also embraces the oft-maligned “f” word – fusion – showing how delicious it is when done properly. In fact, almost every dish immediately elicits plenty of oohs and aahs, a feat all the more impressive considering each was prepared in a kitchen the size of an HDB bomb shelter while it trundles down the rails.
Arriving in Taman Negara National Park, I stroll through its treetop walk, where long-time guide Khairun Nizam Abdul Rashid regales my group with trivia on the spectacular creatures found here, from the shy, exquisitely colourful garnet pitta bird to the giant squirrel, which, at 80cm, is as long as an adult arm.
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